Merge pull request #577 from bbirand/patch-1

[dygraphs.git] / docs / changes.html

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<h2>Guide to making dygraphs changes</h2>

<p>So you've made a change to dygraphs and would like to contribute it back
to the open source project. Wonderful!</p>

<p>This is a step-by-step guide explaining how to do it.</p>

<h3>dygraphs style</h3>
<p>First of all, please try to follow the style of the existing dygraphs
code. This will make the review process go much more smoothly.<p>

<p>A few salient points:</p>
<ol>
  <li>We try to adhere to Google's <a
    href="http://google-styleguide.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/javascriptguide.xml">
    JS style guide</a> and would appreciate it if you try to as well. This
  means:
  <ul>
    <li>No tabs! Indent using two spaces.
    <li>Use camelCase for variable and function names.
    <li>Limit lines to 80 characters.
  </ul>

  <li>Please run 'lint.sh' to see if you've introduced any new violations.

  <li>If you've added a new feature, add a test for it (in the tests/
  directory) or a gallery entry.

  <li>If you've added an option, document it in
  dygraph-options-reference.js. You'll get lots of warnings if you don't.

  <li>If you've fixed a bug or added a feature, add an auto_test for
  it.<br/>
  This ensures that we won't inadvertently break your feature in the
  future. To do this, either add to an existing auto_test in
  auto_tests/tests or run
  <code>auto_tests/misc/new-test.sh your-test-name</code> to
  create a new one. There are two easy ways to run tests:
  <ul>
  <li>You can run your auto_test in any browser by visiting
  <code>auto_tests/misc/local.html</code>. This allows you to debug your
  test, or test against a specific browser.
  <li>You can run your auto_test on the command-line by running
  <code>./test.sh</code>. (It requires installing
  <a href="http://phantomjs.org">phantomjs</a> on your computer.)
  </ul>
</ol>

<h3>Sending a Pull Request</h3>

<p>dygraphs is hosted on github, which uses a "pull request" model. They
have a good writeup <a
  href="http://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/">here</a>. These
instructions discuss dygraphs more specifically.</p>

<p>The list of steps may look a bit daunting, but it's not too bad,
especially if you have any familiarity with git or github. If you run into
any problems while following the instructions, feel free to contact
dygraphs-users.</p>

<p>Why not just take patches? This process means less work for me (the
maintainer) and it also results in your name appearing in the list of
dygraphs commits. This lets you take credit for your work.</p>

<ol>
  <li>Create an account on <a href="http://github.com">github</a>. This is
  free, painless and will let you claim credit for your changes.

  <li>Install git. github has a good writeup <a
    href="http://help.github.com/git-installation-redirect">here</a>.

  <li>Create a fork of the dygraphs repository on github by
  clicking <a href="https://github.com/danvk/dygraphs">this link</a> and
  then the "Fork" button.

  <li>You should see a URL along the lines of
  <code>git@github.com:yourname/dygraphs.git</code><br/>Copy this, open up a
  terminal and run<br/>
  <pre>git clone git@github.com:yourname/dygraphs.git</pre> This
  pulls the dygraphs code down onto your local disk.

  <li>cd into the dygraphs directory and make your changes.<br/>
  If you've already got them somewhere else, just copy them over.<br/>

  <li>Be a good citizen! Make sure your code follows the guidelines
  above.<br/>
    You'll have to do this before we accept your changes, so you may as well
    do it now

  <li>Commit your changes locally: run
    <pre>git add .
git commit</pre>
  Type in a description of your change. This will
  eventually appear in the dygraphs <a
    href="https://github.com/danvk/dygraphs/commits/master">commit list</a>.

  <li>Push your changes to github by running <pre>git push</pre>This will
    send your changes to your forked repository on github.

  <li>Go to your fork of dygraphs on github (i.e.
  github.com/yourname/dygraphs).<br/>
  Click the "Pull Request" button.<br/>
  This will send me an email with a pointer to your changes.

  <li>We'll review your changes and (unless your code is perfect!) give you
  some feedback. Make these suggested changes in your local git client and
  re-run "git commit" and "git push" so that we can see them.

  <li>Once your change is ready, we'll pull it into the main dygraphs
  repository and publish it to the web.
</ol>

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